Nigerian Nurses under the charge of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Abuja chapter, had staged a protest on Monday, against the new verification certification guidelines released by the Nigeria and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, NMCN.
The protest, which was done at the NMCN’s office in Abuja, emphasised the nurses’ displeasure and concerns over the new government strategy.
The nurses had tagged the new verification guidelines as a ploy to inhibit their freedom to chase career opportunities, as the council had other critical issues affecting nurses to tackle such as welfare, salary scale, staff scarcity, and other rights.
Note that the NMCN had on February 7, 2024, issued a circular reviewing the guidelines for requesting verification of certificates for nurses and midwives.
The circular signed by the Registrar of the council, Dr Faruk Abubakar, had stipulated that:
1. a non-refundable payment per application shall be paid for verification to foreign boards of nursing as specified on the portal. This payment would cover the cost of courier services to the applicant’s institution(s) of training, place of work, and foreign board.
2. that qualified applicants must have a minimum of two years post-qualification experience from the date of issuance of the permanent practicing license. Any application with a provisional license would be outrightly rejected.
3.that applicants must have active practicing licenses with a minimum of six months to the expiration date, and processing verification applications would take a minimum of six months.
These guidelines were expected to take effect from March 1, 2024.
This plans were however, met with significant backlash from the nursing community, who view the new regulations as overly restrictive and inhibiting to their career mobility.
As at Monday morning, the nurses and midwives were seen at the NMCN office singing and carrying placards around the premises, protesting the new guidelines.
